Five against One by Kim Neely Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Five against One
Book Review: Excellent history of the band. Must for any fan.
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent. The best written account of Pearl Jam that I have read. I was most impressed by the nuggets of information that I didn't know about previously, especially the alternate version of the "Jeremy" videoBook Review: Five Against One
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is awesome. Very indepth and explanatory. It spans the band's career up to the point of publishing and tells about the early life of the bands leader, Eddie Vedder. This book is very well-written and reads just like a Rolling Stone article. I highly recommend it.Book Review: Flawed and Biased Coverage
Summary: 3 Stars
I was a huge PJ fan in their early years, stuck with them in the "middle" years, and became a huge fan again recently when they released the 72 live bootlegs (I have 'em all and am still trying to listen to all of them). With this new interest I decided to read this book. I loved learning more about the history of the band, but the way the author constructed the book is flawed and biased. First of all, the only band member to make significant contributions is former drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who's a cool guy but he got fired from the band back in 1994. Some very old interviews with Stone, Mike, Jeff, and Eddie are used as background, but clearly the author did not consult them extensively, or else they chose not to participate (more likely). Thus you get extensive coverage of Abbruzzese but nothing about key group members Jeff, Stone, and Mike except some very vague personality descriptions and second hand opinions from other people.Then there's the coverage of Eddie Vedder, who clearly did not make any direct contributions to the book. Kim Neely's only direct contact with him were some early interviews she did for Rolling Stone. Neely's attitude toward Vedder is difficult to comprehend and is a major flaw in the book. Early in the book, despite calling Vedder a "shrimp" at one point, Neely seems to like him and thinks he's a great guy. But as the book progresses, Neely increasingly tries to belittle Vedder and is determined to cut his public image down to size. This is especially true in the section on Eddie's upbringing, in which his painful family life is described. About the only source used for this section is Eddie's stepfather Peter, whom Eddie has often vilified in the press. I feel that Peter is a good guy and that Eddie has been unfair to him. But then again, Neely is attempting to research the past to create a true psychological thesis on Eddie's personality and emotions, and it is downright irresponsible to try to do this without talking to the person you're writing about. So Neely has failed to illuminate Eddie's lyrics and public persona with this so-called psychological research, and only comes across as a muckraker with some sort of score to settle. I wonder what Eddie did to Neely in real life, besides ignoring her. Plus, why not get into the backgrounds of the other guys this extensively? Aren't they interesting enough?
Another big flaw is the problem that sinks many biographies and history books - ignoring recent history and glorifying the good old days. The period of the band's formation, and up to around 1993, is covered in ridiculous detail, while everything since then is glossed over so quickly that you'd think nothing interesting happened. The best evidence of this is Neely's descriptions of each PJ album. Every single song on "Ten" is described in detail, including the sound, the lyrics, and the songwriting process. Most songs on "Vs" are described, and a few on "Vitalogy" are detailed while the rest are sped through in a few vague sentences. And then the albums "No Code" and "Yield" (the most recent at the time of the book) are given just one paragraph each with very brief descriptions of just a few selected songs.
The story is mostly entertaining, but it is hard to take the writer and the structure of the book seriously. And if you're interested in the band's recent history in any way, you're gonna have to go elsewhere.
Book Review: GOOD
Summary: 5 Stars
Best Pearl Jam book I've ever read.Book Review: Good Book...Basic Info...Maybe too one sided!
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read this book and found it to be an overall good read. The first half may be a little boring and drawn out, the second half seemed to be a little too focused on Eddie. However, I think people would find this to be an enjoyable read.